Nearly all locations within the United States and Canada are now served by “911” emergency telephone service, and many other countries have similar services. In the 911 system, calls to the telephone number 911 are specially routed to a public safety answering point (PSAP), where a specially-trained dispatcher can assess the nature of the emergency, offer assistance, summon emergency services or law enforcement personnel to the source of the call, or provide other services. Many PSAPs are interconnected to allow routing calls and other information between them. The 911 service facilitates rapid response by the appropriate authorities in cases of emergency.
Some private organizations offer telephone-based assistance services, for example navigation assistance, concierge services, health monitoring services, and the like. While these private assistance services are not intended to replace the 911 system, in some cases a client of a private telephone assistance service may call the familiar private assistance service in the event of an emergency, rather than 911. For example, a client of such a private assistance service may carry a device pre-programmed to dial the private assistance service at the touch of a single button. While the private service may recognize an emergency and notify the proper authorities, it may also be desirable to provide assistance in other ways as well.